Fraudsters target Thomas Cook refund claims
The Civil Aviation Authority has informed police of ‘attempted fraudulent activity’ over Thomas Cook refund claims.
The CAA has not confirmed whether its official Thomas Cook claims site, which was launched on Monday, has been targeted, but the BBC reports the regulatory body is understood to be ‘concerned by a series of low-level claims which could indicate fraud’.
The CAA said further verification checks are being implemented and warned anyone who commits fraud will be prosecuted.
It added any Thomas Cook customers who intended to make a claim needed to do so via the official CAA Thomas Cook claims website.
In a message on its website the CAA said: "This morning we have taken urgent action in response to what we believe is attempted fraudulent activity in relation to refunds for Thomas Cook customers. If you have made a claim directly with us, then your claim is being processed and you do not need to take any action.
"Our role is to protect the consumer and this is our foremost priority. We will not hesitate to take the necessary action to do so. Therefore, please only make claims directly through the official dedicated website: thomascook.caa.co.uk/refunds.
"Please help us to combat the risk of fraud by not submitting your details to any other website. Our focus is on getting money back to the right people as soon as possible and combating fraud in every way possible.
"We are informing the police of this activity and are implementing further verification checks to protect consumers. Where we see evidence of fraud, we will seek to prosecute any individuals or organisations involved.
"We will publish further updates as soon as more information is available, and we remain committed to processing refunds to Thomas Cook customers quickly and securely."
Yesterday, the system struggled to cope with ‘unprecedented demand’ in the hours immediately after launch.
Many people received an error message after entering their details, meaning their claims were not submitted.
However 100,000 claims have been submitted since the refunds website went live.
A spokesman said that Thomas Cook customers themselves were also being targeted by fraudsters.
Which? reported at the weekend that it had contacted the company hosting one fraudulent site, ThomasCookrefunds, asking for it to be taken down. However, the site is still up and running.
Adam French, Which? consumer rights expert, said: "Ruthless scammers will try to exploit a crisis like the collapse of Thomas Cook in any way they can, so it is good to see the CAA taking swift action to shut down this suspicious activity.
"We have also found evidence of fake refund websites attempting to fleece customers, so we would urge people to only use the dedicated refund website and do not to turn to alternatives."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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